Single position fluid operated clutch

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to a clutch having coaxial driving and driven members including a hub for mounting on a driven shaft with a drive member slidably mounted on the hub and rotatable thereby, the drive member formed with a multiplicity of ballreceiving cavities, a carrier member having a multiplicity of balls mounted thereon for engagement with the cavities, the carrier and drive members having intermeshing teeth, means for carrying the ball carrier rotatable on the hub, and means for urging the drive member axially on the hub for engagement of the cavities thereof with the balls of the carrier as the teeth of the drive member engage the teeth of the ball carrier to thereby rotate the means carrying the ball carrier.

1451 Sept. 25, 1973 SINGLE POSITION FLUID OPERATED CLUTCH 2,384,4189/l945 Edmondson 192/67 R 2,738,2l 3/1956 Hjembo [92/67 R X [75]Inventors: James V. flanks; Eugene L. Dahl, Primary Examiner Anan D.Hemnann both of Mmneapohs Attorney-Jack W. Wicks et al. [73] Assignee:Horton Manufacturing Company,

Inc., Minneapolis, Minn. S A The disclosure relates to a clutch havingcoaxial driving [22] Filed Apr. 1972' and driven members including a hubfor mounting on [21] Appl. No.: 242,105 a driven shaft with a drivemember slidably mounted on the hub and rotatable thereby, the drivemember [52] U S Cl 192/67 R 192/85 CA formed with a multiplicity ofball-receiving cavities, a [51] 11/10 1216! 25/061 carrier member havinga multiplicity of balls mounted [58] 192/67 67 P 85 CA thereon forengagement with the cavities, the carrier and drive members havingintermeshing teeth, means [56] References Cited for carrying the ballcarrier rotatable on the hub, and means for urging the drive memberaxially on the hub UNITED STATES PATENTS for engagement of the cavitiesthereof with the balls of 2,9 l I Wiedmann et al R X the carrier as theteeth of the drive member engage the g; ki teeth of the ball carrier tothereby rotate the means carmg 1,584,104 /1926 Lentaty 192/67 R rymg theban earner 2,366,461 1/1945 Shoreys 192/67 R X 8 Claims, 12 DrawingFigures 99 j 24 96 f j 26 1Z2 J J ,54

1 F 1 124 e a/ a0 48 110 118 ii ZZ SINGLE POSITION FLUID OPERATED CLUTCHSUMMARY This invention relates to an improvement in clutches and moreparticularly to a clutch engageable in a single driving position withwhich the input and output always come to the same degree of registryfor rotation of the output.

The present device includes a ball carrier on the output side of thedevice the balls of which keep the face of the input drive ringperpendicular to the sliding axis of the hub which provides lateralsupport between the drive ring and the ball carrier. The balls prevent atorque output during the seeking of registry of the balls of the ballcarrier with the cavities of the device ring.

With registry the teeth of the drive ring engage teeth of this ballcarrier output member.

In the printing industry where sheet material must be put through a runa second time and register with a previous sheet position the subjectclutch allows a declutched element to be clutched in to the sameprevious position relative to a member of the machine running the sheetmaterial. With the present invention .the clutching is accomplished withpositive torque transfer and the desired lateral support within theunit.

In the drawings forming part of this application:

FIG. 1 is an axial section through the one-position clutch embodying theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the clutch with portions thereof brokenaway.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the drive ring.

FIG..6 is a sectional view through the drive ring.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the ball carrier ring.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view through the ball carrier rmg.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration of the angular geometry of theball positions.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration of the compact angles, the ballsat the most compact radius shown in broken lines.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration of the tooth path during theprocess of engagement.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view on the line 12-12 of FIG.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the clutch A includes thestationary cylinder 10 formed with the internal annular surface 12 andthe reduced diameter annular surface 14. Formed in the cylinder surface14 is the annular recess 16 in which is positioned the O-ring 18. Thecylinder 10 also includes the annular flange 20. Further provided is theannular piston 22 formed with the major diameter portion 24 and thereduced diameter portion 26. The piston 24 is formed with the annularrecess 28 in which is press fit the outer race 30 of the bearing 32. Theinner race 34 of the bearing 32 is press fit on the rotatable hub 36formed with the internal keyway 37. The outer surface of the pistonportion 24 is formed with the annular recess 38 in which is positionedthe O-ring 40 which makes sealing engagement with the cylinder 10. TheO-ring 18 makes sealing engagement with the piston portion 26.

The numeral 42 designates an inlet which allows fluid pressure to enterthe cylinder by conventional means. The outer race 44 of bearing 46 ismounted within the cylinder flange and the inner race 48 is press fitupon the splined sleeve 50 of the circular drive ring 52. The sleeve 50terminates in the radially disposed annular flange 54 on the face ofwhich is formed the annular ring of teeth 56. Formed at the periphery ofthe annular flange 56 are the five spaced ball-receiving cavities 58,60, 62, 64, and 66.

The flange of the drive ring 52 is formed with a central opening 68which coincides with the inner surface of the sleeve 50, and formed onthe inner surface of the flange and the sleeve are the splines 70 whichslidably engage with the splines 72 formed on the hub 36 therebyallowing the drive ring to slide axially on the hub. The inner race 48of the bearing 46 is press fit in the annular recess 74 of the sleeve 50of the drive ring and the race 48 abuts the shoulder 76 of the drivering formed by the recess 74. Thus as the cylinder 10 is moved axiallyon the piston 22 the cylinder moves the bearing 46 axially which in turncarries with it the drive ring 52 slidably splined upon the hub 36 asdescribed.

The drive ring 52 is urged against axial movement by means of amultiplicity of coil spring 78 mounted in bores 80 formed in the sleeve50, the outer ends of the springs abutting the back up washer 82 mountedon the hub 36 and the inner ends of the springs abutting the inner endsof the bores 80. The washer 82 is mounted in the recess 84 formed on thehub and abuts the shoulder 86 formed by the recess 84.

The numeral 88 designates a ball carrier ring formed of the flatradially disposed ring portion 90 terminating in its outer edge in theright angular annular outer flange 92. The ball carrier ring is securedin a recess 94 formed in the annular flange mount 96 by means of thebolts 98. Formed on the inner face of the mount 96 are the teeth 99which are in axial alignment with and engageable with the teeth 56 ofthe drive ring 52. The ball carrier ring 88 has formed in the ringportion 90 and the flange 92 thereof the partial ball sockets 100, 102,104, 106, and 108 which are in alignment with the ball cavities 58, 60,62, 64, and 66 of the drive ring, respectively. The partial ball socketsalso include the complementary partial socket portions such as 100a,particularly FIGS. 1 and 4 with four identical partial socket formationsformed in the flange mount 96, all in axial and radial alignment withthe partial sockets 100-108. The halls 100b, 102b, 104b, 106b, and 108bare mounted on the flange mount 96 by placing the balls first in thepartial sockets 100-108. Next the combination and the balls thereof areplaced in the partial complementary, socket portions l00a-l08a and thering 88 secured to the mount 96 thereby mounting the balls on the mount96. The mount 96 has formed therein the annular recess 110 in which theouter races 112 and 114 of the bearings 116 and 118, respectively, arepress fit and held therein by the lock ring 120. The inner races 122 and124 are press fit in the recess 84 and abutting the washer 82 and heldin position by the lock ring 126. The flange mount 96 has formed thereinthe annular recess 128 on which a sheave may be mounted for driving ofthe same.

The hub 36 is keyed to the shaft of a motor not shown whereby the drivering 52 is rotated. Fluid pressure is introduced into the inlet 42thereby causing the cylinder 10 to move axially and cause the drive ring52 to also move axially as it rotates whereby the cavities 58-66 seekregister with the balls l00b-108b. Generally speaking, with register ofthe cavities with the balls, the teeth 56 of the drive ring engage theteeth 99 of the mount 96 whereby the flange mount is rotated. Torqueforce is not created until full registry of the balls and teeth and oncethere is engagement all torque is taken by the teeth engagement and notthe balls. It will be seen that all five balls are either in or out ofengagement and when not in engagement there is planar support for thedrive ring. It will be further seen that with the positioning of theballs as set forth herein there are always three balls in a trianglecontaining the axis of the clutch with engagement of portions of themember between the cavities along the path to support the drive ringbefore engagement of the teeth 56 with teeth 99 and there is negligibletorque output during the seeking of the balls by the cavities.

DETAILS OF THE DRIVE RING AND BALL CARRIER The cavities 58, 60, 62, 64,and 66 lie at the compact angles plus or minus 10 as long as the ballsdo not extend past the 20 envelope about the compact angle, i.e. 10 oneither side. The cavities are positioned as follows. With cavity 58 as areference and proceeding, cavity 60 is 170 on a circle removed fromcacity 58, cavity 62 is 190 removed from cavity 58, cavity 64 is 40removed from cavity 58, cavity 66 is 250 on the circle, the degrees ofrelationship shown in particular in FIGS. 5 and 10. The position of theballs in the ball carrier is identical.

It has been found that for a single position ball clutch to functionproperly, and with a minimal volume, that a minimum of five ballsoperating at the same radius are needed. It has also been found, forexample, that three balls describing a plane about the center axis andoperating in concentric but different orbits is not the solution for aminimal volume radially although the unit may be properly supported atall times. However, such an example requires large balls and relativelylarge radius operating orbits in order to attain tooth engagement of thedrive ring and the ball carrier ring whereby compactness is lost.

With compactness necessary, it is desirable to utilize balls as small asfeasible and operate them in a single orbit and with such constructionall the balls pass over all the cavities while seeking registrytherewith. In order to properly support the cavity and teeth carryingdrive ring 52 during the seek to registry, it has been found that asufficient number of balls be used and spaced so that when a ball passesover a non-registry cavity the remaining balls describe a stable planeabout the axis of the clutch unit. Such is described herein.

With the minimum of five balls operating at the same radius it has beenfurther found there are three minimum spatial relationships that musthold:

1 The optimal angular configurations of the balls, for

a radially compact unit, operating at the minimum orbital radius is 0,40, 170, l90and 250 as heretofore set forth, FIG. 10.

2. The minimum tooth clearance for a ball of a given radius, r, and atooth form with a root angle of, b, is given as tooth clearance r[1sin(90 b)], FIG. 1 1.

3. The cavity angle, c, is bounded between the tooth root angle, b, and90, i.e. b c 90, FIG. 12.

It has been found that five balls yield proper support when properlyspaced. The spacing of the five balls is a function of the radius of theoperating orbit of the balls and the diameter of the balls. The optimalangle is first established by means of placing the balls at the compactoperating radius. Once these optimal angles are determined then theseangles are utilized for all radii greater than the compact radius. Thisfunction for a radially compact unit with five balls is determined asfollows and in connection see FIG. 9.

1. Place one ball at the 0 reference.

2. Place the next two balls No. 2 and No. 3 in contact at 180 i d. Whered Sin r/R.

3. The fourth ball is placed-so the second and third ball may besupportedbetween the first and fourth cavity holes. This requires, M forfull diameter cavity holes.

4. Likewise, the first and fourth balls must be supported between thethird and fifth cavities which requires an angle of 6d.

5. The angle is denied as possible position of the fifth ball because dis small and loss of support would result due to the approximatesymmetry. This is completely denied by disallowing the positioning ofthe fifth within one ball diameter or 2 d away from the 90 position.This leave an unrestricted position angle where the fifth ball may liecalled e.

6. From FIG. 9, 9d e 90. With a radially compact unit desired, 2 is setat 0, and therefore 9d 90 or d 10. The angular position of the ballsthen follow directly as shown in FIG. 10.

Since d 10 Sin r/R, then defines the minimum radius of the operatingorbit for a given ball radius (i.e. for $6 inch balls, the 1.44 is theminimum radius of the operating orbit). This does not imply thatdifferent angles at larger radii of operating orbits could not be usedbut other angles do not yield optimal support as do the compact angles.The compact angles work for all radii of the operating orbits greaterthan the aforementioned minimum.

The tooth clearance as at X, FIG. 1, is the distance between the driveteeth while the clutch is seeking registry and the tooth clearance is afunction of the ball size and the tooth form. This function can bedetermined by considering the physical constraints of a ball rollingabout its point of contact with a corner (i.e. the ball rolling orsliding into the ball cavity).

1. Since the ball is constrained in the ball carrier, the engaging teethwill trace out the same path as that of the center of the ballregardless of their relative plane along the axis of the unit.

2. The ball acts as a rigid constraint, and it has been found that theteeth must engage on the incoming side if both the balls and teeth areto become fully engaged.

3. It has also been found that the teeth must be carried over the crownof the matching set of teeth in order to contact the incoming side only.

4. The amount of travel needed after the teeth have been carried overthe crown is not related to the ball size or tooth clearance.

From these constraints, the minimum tooth clearance is determined asfollows, see FIG. 11.

l. The teeth are just carried over the crown of the matching teeth.

2. The angle of incidence of the path of the teeth with its matching setat contact is zero.

3. It is seen that l r sin (90-b) and that the minimum tooth clearancefor a single intercept is: tooth clearance r l For example, if the balldiameter is 1% inch and the tooth root angle is 60, the minimum toothclearance tooth clearance /1 [l sin (90 60)] 1% inch SeeFIG. 5. The formof the ball cavities is restricted physically by the tooth root angleand the necessity of disengagement under load. If the cavity angle isless than the tooth root angle, then the teeth will never fully engage.If the cavity angles is greater than 90, then the ball will lock inunder torque if the center of the ball drops below the cavity surfacewhen engaged. Practically then an angle great enough to ensure fullengagement of the teeth and yet still have good disengagementcharacteristics is selected either by judgement or empirically. It hasbeen found that 70 yields acceptable performance for 5% inch balls and60 teeth.

We claim:

1. A one position clutch comprising:

a. a hub for mounting a driven shaft,

b. a drive ring slidably mounted on said hub and rotatable thereby,

c. said drive ring formed with a multiplicity of projection-receivingtapered cavities,

d. a projection carrier ring having a multiplicity of projectionsmounted thereon adjacent the periphery thereof for engagement with saidcavities of said drive ring,

e. said drive ring having teeth formed thereon and radially within saidprojection-receiving cavities,

f. said projection carrier ring having teeth formed thereon radiallywithin said projections for engagement with the teeth of said drivering,

g. a flange mount carrying said projection carrier ring rotatable onsaid hub, 1

h. means for urging said drive ring axially on said hub for engagementof said cavities thereof with said projections of said carrier ring assaid teeth of said drive ring engage the teeth of said projectioncarrier ring to thereby rotate said flange mount carrying saidprojection carrier ring.

2. The clutch according to claim 1 in which a. the projections andcavities are arranged so that in one position the projections overliethe cavities for registry and in any other position at least threeprojections form a triangle containing the axis of the clutch and engageportions of the member between the cavities and along said path.

3. A one-position clutch comprising:

a. a hub for mounting a driven shaft,

b. a drive ring slidably mounted on said hub and rotatable thereby,

c. said drive ring formed with a multiplicity of ballreceiving taperedcavities on the periphery thereof,

d. a ball carrier member in the form of a ring and having a multiplicityof balls mounted adjacent the periphery thereof for engagement with saidcavities of said drive ring,

e. said drive ring having teeth formed thereon and radially inwardly ofsaid ball-receiving cavities,

f. said ball carrier ring having teeth formed thereon and radiallyinwardly of said balls for engagement with the teeth of said drive ring,

g. a flange mount carrying said ball carrier ring rotatable on said hub,

h. fluid pressure means for urging said drive ring axially on said hubfor engagement of said cavities thereof with said balls of said carrierring as said teeth of said drive ring engage the teeth of said ballcarrier ring to thereby rotate said flange mount carrying said ballcarrier ring.

4. The clutch according to claim 3 in which a. the balls and thecavities are arranged so that in one position the balls overlie thecavities for registry and in any other position at least three ballsform a triangle containing the axis of the clutch and engage portions ofthe drive ring between the cavities of the drive ring.

5. The clutch according to claim 3 in which said means for urging saiddrive ring to said ball carrier ring includes a. a stationary annularcylinder in which said hub is rotatably mounted,

b. an annular piston mounted within said cylinder,

and

c. fluid inlet means for actuating said piston into engagement with saiddrive ring to slidably move the same.

6. The clutch according to claim 3 in which a. the angles between acertain ball and its corresponding cavity and the successive balls andcavities are substantially 0, 40, and 250.

7. The clutch according to claim 6 in which a. the teeth haveintermeshing V-shaped ends.

8. The-clutch according to claim 6 in which a. the balls and thecavities are arranged so that in one position the balls overlie thecavities for registry and in any other position at least three ballsform a triangle containing the axis of the clutch and engage portions ofthe drive ring between the cavities of the drive ring.

1. A one position clutch comprising: a. a hub for mounting a drivenshaft, b. a drive ring slidably mounted on said hub and rotatablethereby, c. said drive ring formed with a multiplicity ofprojectionreceiving tapered cavities, d. a projection carrier ringhaving a multiplicity of projections mounted thereon adjacent theperiphery thereof for engagement with said cavities of said drive ring,e. said drive ring having teeth formed thereon and radially within saidprojection-receiving cavities, f. said projection carrier ring havingteeth formed thereon radially within said projections for engagementwith the teeth of said drive ring, g. a flange mount carrying saidprojection carrier ring rotatable on said hub, h. means for urging saiddrive ring axially on said hub for engagement of said cavities thereofwith said projections of said carrier ring as said teeth of said drivering engage the teeth of said projection carrier ring to thereby rotatesaid flange mount carrying said projection carrier ring.
 2. The clutchaccording to claim 1 in which a. the projections and cavities arearranged so that in one position the projections overlie the cavitiesfor registry and in any other position at least three projections form atriangle containing the axis of the clutch and engage portions of themember between the cavities and along said path.
 3. A one-positionclutch comprising: a. a hub for mounting a driven shaft, b. a drive ringslidably mounted on said hub and rotatable thereby, c. said drive ringformed with a multiplicity of ball-receiving tapered cavities on theperiphery thereof, d. a ball carrier member in the form of a ring andhaving a multiplicity of balls mounted adjacent the periphery thereoffor engagement with said cavities of said drive ring, e. said drive ringhaving teeth formed thereon and radially inwardly of said ball-receivingcavities, f. said ball carrier ring having teeth formed thereon andradially inwardly of said balls for engagement with the teeth of saiddrive ring, g. a flange mount carrying said ball carrier ring rotatableon said hub, h. fluid pressure means for urging said drive ring axiallyon said hub for engagement of said cavities thereof with said balls ofsaid carrier ring as said teeth of said drive ring engage the teeth ofsaid ball carrier ring to thereby rotate said flange mount carrying saidball carrier ring.
 4. The clutch according to claim 3 in which a. theballs and the cavities are arranged so that in one position the ballsoverlie the cavities for registry and in any other position at leastthree balls form a triangle containing the axis of the clutch and engageportions of the drive ring between the cavities of the drive ring. 5.The clutch according to claim 3 in which said means for urging saiddrive ring to said ball carrier ring includes a. a stationary annularcylinder in which said hub is rotatably mounted, b. an annular pistonmounted within said cylinder, and c. fluid inlet means for actuatingsaid piston into engagement with said drive ring to slidably move thesame.
 6. The clutch according to claim 3 in which a. the angles betweena certAin ball and its corresponding cavity and the successive balls andcavities are substantially 0*, 40*, 170*, 190*, and 250*.
 7. The clutchaccording to claim 6 in which a. the teeth have intermeshing V-shapedends.
 8. The clutch according to claim 6 in which a. the balls and thecavities are arranged so that in one position the balls overlie thecavities for registry and in any other position at least three ballsform a triangle containing the axis of the clutch and engage portions ofthe drive ring between the cavities of the drive ring.